Electrolytic process for refining nickel.



JOHN N. PRING, on NEW. YORK,N, Y.,-AssIeNoR TO ELMER YORK.

ELECTROLYTIC PnooEssroR REFINING NICKE/L.

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN N. PRING, a subject 'of Great Britain, residing at New- York, in

the county of New York and State of New York, have invented new and useful .Improvements in Electrolytic Processes for Refining Nickel, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to thepurific'ation of nickel and it consists more particularly in first dissolving the crude nickel together with "the associated metals for instance as sulfates or, beginning with one of the "salts especially suohas is obtained in refining oopperor other metals and which may contain such impurities as zinc, iron, cobalt and copper. Beside these'metals it is ossible to free thenickel or the nickel an cobalt from such substances as Sb. Bi. Pb. and Hg.

. To illustrate one method of carrying out the process Iwilldescribe the case of separation of nickel fromcopper refining wastein the form'of crude sulfate; This is first dis- ;solved in water to. which isfadded a little suitable sulfid, suchfor insatnce as Na2S or for instance a little nickel sulfid freshly precipitated and which may be taken from the rocess later on.- During this treatment it v1s well to agitate the solution which is then filtered or-the solution may be filtered over a small amount of the nickel sulfid:- Copper is thus thrown out as the sulfid, together with the second series of metals recited above. The filtrate is then digested with any soluble sulfid such as an alkaline sulfid for'instance,

with blackashor calcium sulfid which convert and "precipitate as sulfids the following metals: N1. Go: Fe Zn. and Mn. I now proceed without separating the sulfids,-to digest the agitated liquor with asuitable acid to the point. of neutralization. I nowadd an excess of an acid which I have discovered will redissolve the above named foreign sulfids exee t cobalt and includ ng manganese only: by rochloric acid isanxample of such a solvent; I now agitate for a short eriod whereupon it is found 'that ni'ckelsul d and cobalt sulfid alone remain undissolved or I" may proceed to separate the solids, wash and treat in dilute solvent for the metals other than Ni. and Co. as sulfids. These will readily settle,-wher'eupon by decantation and 1 suitable washing, either with or without Specification of Letters Patent, Application fildNovenihr 8,1906.' Serial no. 342.491.

extends to, such use.

Patented Dec. 24, 1907.

larly ure. For some purposes these may be consi ered'to be the commercial products of the process or they can then be treated .by

filtering, the sulfids are found to be unassociated with the other metals and are particu- SPERRY, or BROOKLYN, NEW

any of the well known processes for separation of nickel and cobalt or we may proceed either-with or without such separation as follows to reduce to the metallic state. This step may lee-conducted in any form of reduction furnace or by roasting or it may be electrolytic in its nature and in such case is based upon the fact that nickel sulfid is converted into nickel chlorid by C12 on heating, or as I e have discovered by nascent chlorin as genother suitable cathode which receives the deposit of nickel. The electrolyte may con sist of a solution of nickel chlorid, the anodes being gra hite plates contained within a suitable diap 'agm porous cell, or porous partition. The nickel sulfid is fed into-theanolyte and is held there, more or; less ina,

state of suspension, or may be fed in a thin layer down the fiat faces of the anode.

During electrolysis nickel is deposited on the cathode in a fine coherent form and practically no chlorin is evolved from the anodecompartment. Th Nis is converted into nickel chlorid (Ni C12) and sulfur is found to gradually accumulate in the anode chamber;

erated at the anode or in the anode compart- 'ment of an-electrolytic cell, electrolyzing a ,chlorid. This cell may contain a nickel or this'is periodically or otherwise removed and separated from the sulfid in any suitable manner as'for instance, by sublimation, the

"sulfids being returned to" the process and the sulfur 'condensedand recovered as the flowers of sulfur or in other suitable form.

'I do not care to limit myself to the exact process'stated above which is'simply used to illustrate one method of carrying out my invention for instance solution other than the sulfate may be employed as will readily be .understood;- also some of the ste s may be varied and where the impurity wi 1 permit it ,is obvious that same may be omitted with- "out interfering with the scope of the invention as stated in the claims hereto annexed and forming a part hereof and the invention It will also be readily understood that asulfhydrate may be employed lieu ofthe sulfid mentioned above.

separating the remaining :is olids an'delec trolyzing them.

2. The method of refining impure or crude nickel which consistsin treating it in a suitable solution with a soluble sulfid, treating the liquid which bears the resulting solids with a solvent for the foreign bodies, separating the remaining solids and electrolyzing them in the presence of a chlorid.

3. The method of refining impure or crude nickel which consists in treating it in 'a suitable solution with a soluble sulfid,

treating the liquid; which bears resulting solids with -a solvent forthe-foreign bodies,

separating the remaining solids and. electrolyzins them in a compartment cell and in the. ano e com artment of such cell.

.41 The met 0d of refining impure or crude nickel which consists in treating it in ia-suitable solution with a soluble sulfid,

tact with an inert anode and. depositing nickel at the cathode.

In testimonywhereof I'haVe hereunto-set my handin presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN N. PRING.

Witnesses:

THOMAS ROBINSON, E. A. SPERRY. 

